Capturing the Bay Area's Diversity—And Rapid Change

A woman tries on wearable tech at the Startup and Tech Mixer, a large networking event. San Francisco, CA. From the series Wild West Tech, a look at young people striving for success in Silicon Valley.

A view of Millennium Tower from Zeno Alley. San Francisco, CA. From the series SoMa Now, which captures the city's changing urban landscape.

Chanslor and 4th Street. Richmond, CA. From the series There is Nothing Beautiful Around Here.

From a three-year project following Shannon Fulcher, trying to provide for his daughter, maintain his sobriety and avoid incarceration. Oakland, CA.

A participant at the Shirts.io hackathan takes a nap on her computer in the middle of the night. San Francisco, CA. From the series Wild West Tech, a look at young people striving for success in Silicon Valley.

Former foster youth Sade Daniels, age 26, has battled her weight ever since she was prescribed antipsychotic medications as a teen. Hayward, CA. From the series Drugging Our Kids, an examination of foster care and prescription drugs in the state.

A house in the town of Guerneville, CA, a popular vacation spot just 60 miles north of San Francisco. From the series West County.

Untitled. From the 2011 series Occupy Bay Area.

Erik Aburto, a prisoner in the San Francisco County Jail 5. From the series Take a Picture, Tell a Story, a portrait series giving voice to those incarcerated.

68-year-old Ethel Gist lost her home in a gated retirement community due to foreclosure in Brentwood, CA. She now lives with her daughter and grandsons in Antioch, where she is a part-time receptionist at Antioch Church Family. From the series Faces of Foreclosure.

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The San Francisco Bay Area is among the most diverse places in the country, a wonderful and eclectic place filled with people of every background. It isn't perfect by any means, but the region possesses a rich history, thriving culture, and amazing diversity that is reflected in each of the 4.3 million people who live there.

Each of them brings something different to the mix, and takes from it their own experience. Their stories are the focus of Status Update, an exhibition of 14 projects curated by Rian Dundon and former WIRED contributor Pete Brook. The show at SOMarts uses personal tales to convey the larger, complex narrative of the Bay Area's culture. "The nuances of real people's lives are rarely fodder for news stories beyond the extent to which they can be pegged to something easily recognizable," says Dundon. "This show is entirely about seeing more than that."

Status Update reflects these changes, and the challenges they bring. Joseph Rodriguez’sFaces of Foreclosure features quiet portraits of people like Ethel Gist, a 68-year-old woman who lost her home in the East Bay suburb of Brentwood six years ago. Photographer Sam Wolson chronicles Oakland resident Shannon Fulcher and his efforts to provide for his daughter while staying sober and out of jail. And Laura Morton documents millennials hoping to make their way to the top in Silicon Valley in her series Wild West Tech. The mix of mediums, styles and subject matter within the exhibit underscore the region's great diversity of experiences and how they shape each other. "We believe that bringing [these images] into dialogue with each other advances a conversation about our home beyond the simple binary of good and bad, or other easily codified motifs,” Dundon says.

Status Update provokes a conversation about how the Bay Area is changing, and what people can do to foster a more just, equitable society. "I hope people walk away from this show with a little more humility [and] respect for our neighbors and communities and the ways we depend on one another," Dundon says. "We're all out here together."